Colombia

2012

New York, May 1, 2012--The Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) must immediately and unconditionally release French journalist Roméo
Langlois, who was captured Saturday during a confrontation with Colombian
armed forces, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. An alleged FARC
member has reportedly
told Colombian journalists that the leftist rebel group is holding Langlois as
a prisoner of war.

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New York, April 30, 2012--A French journalist who
was injured during combat between Colombian Army troops and guerrillas has gone
missing and may have been kidnapped by the rebels, according to Colombian and
French officials.

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New York, April 23, 2012--Three provincial Colombian radio
journalists have been forced to flee their homes in the past few months after
receiving death threats from illegal armed groups. The Committee to Protect
Journalists today called on authorities to ensure their safety.

The issue of impunity affects all Colombian citizens'
access to real justice; it is not only a problem for crimes against
journalists. Several human rights bodies and non-governmental organizations
agree that Colombia dwells in a striking situation of impunity, especially concerning
crimes committed during the ongoing armed conflict.

CPJ's María Salazar-Ferro names the 12 countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Where are leaders failing to uphold the law? Where are conditions getting better? And where is free expression in danger? (4:46)

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New York, February 29, 2012--Colombian freelance journalist
and activist Bladimir Sánchez Espitia fled his home state today for the capital
city after receiving death threats related to a video he posted on YouTube,
according to the Bogotá-based Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP). News
reports said the video showed anti-riot police forcibly removing protesters
from the construction site of a controversial hydroelectric dam in central
Huila department.

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While lethal anti-press violence has slowed considerably in recent years, the press freedom landscape remains troubled. Journalists continue to be attacked and threatened with such frequency that some are compelled to flee to safer locations within Colombia or into exile. A journalist in Arboletes was murdered in June, although the motive was unclear. In this violent context, press groups feared the potential consequences of statements made by former President Álvaro Uribe, who described veteran reporters Juan Forero and Claudia Julieta Duqueas “terrorist sympathizers” after they wrote critical stories about the Uribe administration in The Washington Post. The national intelligence agency’s illegal espionage against journalists and other critics, a legacy of the Uribe administration, continued to be the subject of investigation. But progress was slow, with cases pending against more than 20 defendants in late year. In a blow to press freedom, the Supreme Court in May upheld defamation provisions in the penal code.

For centuries, journalists have been willing to go to prison to protect their sources. Back in 1848, New
York Herald correspondent John Nugent spent a month in jail for refusing to tell a U.S. Senate committee
his source for a leak exposing the secret approval of a treaty with Mexico. In
a digital age, however, journalists need more than steadfast conviction to keep
themselves and their sources safe. Government intelligence agencies, terrorist
groups, and criminal syndicates are using electronic surveillance to learn what
journalists are doing and who their sources are. It seems many journalists are not keeping
pace.